Sparks

So bear with me... is Auxiliary all-the-way-dead?  Because even Auxiliary says there will be a small piece of him left.  Not enough to give him personality or communication, but enough to power Auxiliary's corpse as a weapon.

If Mayalaran can be awoken (at least partially) by Adolin, as a mostly-dead-but-still-present Shardblade/spren, I guess I have to ask, why can't Sigzil do the same with Auxiliary's corpse?

Best guess is something about a spren using it's own essence to be burned as Investiture-fuel instead of being garden variety killed by oathbreaking renders the death different, as in the damage is irrecoverable. 

On 10/9/2023 at 7:53 PM, Uncle Karlos said:

Great book, a lot of things to consider on the reread. One thing that made me chuckle, when Nomad was in the Scadrian research pod and the TimeTeller said to him:

“What are their problems to us?…You’re a mercenary, Rosharan. You know there are dozens of these little planets scattered around, all with their own backward monarchies and their own stupid ways of doing things. What, you want us to take in everyone who is having a bad day?”

Sounds like the TimeTeller is writing a new book called The Frugal Surgebinder's Handbook for Surviving the Medieval Cosmere.

On 4/5/2022 at 6:35 AM, Isilel said:

Shallan's surviving brothers seem pretty unremarkable too, and the jury is still out on Helaran. I also don't see what piling even more guilt on Shallan brings to her story.

Helaran was a candidate if not a squire for the Skybreakers, so it seems like the spren had already decided Helaran was pretty interesting.

I don’t think it’s necessarily more guilt - I think with RoW Shallan has made enough of a breakthrough with regards to undeserved guilt for her past that it wouldn’t be an issue - but “I killed my mother and triggered the True Desolation” is a juicy tidbit for a Fourth or Fifth Ideal for Shallan.

I personally think (T)Odium’s champion is gonna be Ishar, because his corruption / madness making him believe Dalinar is the real Odium’s champion in RoW is excellent foreshadowing. I also think Ishar was Rayse’s original choice for champion for this reason.

But, if Taravangian goes for the draw / breaking of the contract, it will happen along these lines: T reveals himself to somebody Dalinar loves. (Navani / Renarin / Adolin / etc) He explains how he killed Rayse and how the contest is pointless because he has no further designs on exterminating humans or continuing the human / singer war any longer than he has to. He then reveals that in the event Dalinar loses he forfeits his soul, and then cuts a second deal that would make them (T)Odium’s willing champion: be my champion, not to beat Dalinar, but to force him to break the contest. In return, I will spare Dalinar and his soul, return Alethkar and Herdaz, and end the human / singer war on Roshar. And since the contest is broken, Honor’s restrictions on Odium are null and void. I can see someone that loves Dalinar very much taking that deal for fear of losing him.

I also think the contest is like Sadeas being murdered: it’s going to end up being a short part of Book 5. Maybe wrapped up in the first 2 sections or so. Because in my mind, the main conflict of Book 5 is gonna be Taravangian freed, and Dalinar / Navani throwing together a hodgepodge revised Oathpact to restrain not the Fused, but Odium himself. The twenty year jump between 5 and 6 will be the time it takes for Odium to break the new Heralds.

I really liked Cytonic. Maybe not loved it like the SA series, but above all I like how Brandon is keeping things fresh by not just telling the story of Skyward Part 2 and Skyward Part 3 in the sequels.  Cytonic and even Starsight were about Spensa growing up from a child soldier with a limited perspective into a fully developed person with a view for the bigger picture. 

As for specifics:

- David Bowie. Lol. I’m dead! Come to think of it, you can’t convince me David Bowie was (is) not Cytonic.

- Chet’s 2nd swerve caught me off guard, and it suddenly made so much more of the first 2 Acts make sense.

- The revelation that all the delvers are the same (not a hive mind), with the same emotional trauma, was a trip. I don’t think the solution to the delvers will be to make them “real”. Looking at the pentad of Spensa, Doomslug, Chet, M-Bot, and Hensho flying into the unknown - that’s how Spensa defeats the delvers. She’s living their solution to the “noise” right now.

- So if Spensa rescues M-Bot, will M-Bot manifest in the realverse as a delver? Or something new?

- If I held up a picture of a delver, and a picture of a Cognitive shadow, would they be the same picture?

- Why can’t Cytonics Hyperjump in the nowhere again? So Hyperjumps are using the nowhere to connect points A and B in the realverse through a shortcut. Why can’t a Cytonic use the realverse to connect points A and B in the nowhere?

- Spensa popping in unexpectedly on Jorgen repeatedly is the better version of Rey doing the same to Ben in Star Wars.

- I’m glad I’m not on Spensa’s ground crew. Every book ends with her starfighter destroyed!  What is this, the Star Trek movies?

- Now I want a Wing Commander video game series based on the Skyward series. Cytonic would definitely be the Privateer game.

20 hours ago, Harrycrapper said:

We have FM and Rig getting together in Sunreach. Arturo previous relationship died offscreen so that this one could live - who is going to be paired up in the next novella? 

Ironsides and Cobb, of course!

Brade and Nedd for the runner-up.

Oh Jorgen.  

Great read!  I couldn't put it down.   

Edit: I've always felt since Starsight that the Superiority felt like Ba Sing Se from Avatar: The Last Airbender. Now in ReDawn, it feels even more so, just going full Dai Li unhinged insanity!

I feel like if you intertwine the novellas with Cytonic it would have made its own Stormlight Archive-sized Skyward novel!

For the most part I loved it.  We get to explore FM the person, and I feel like both FM and Jorgen get some significant character growth.  Although it felt a little off that Jorgen seemed to be taking out some of his frustration on the taynix slugs at the beginning.

I missed Nedd's humorous Eeyore routine - he had a lot more to say in Skyward than in Sunreach.

I felt the one piece that was really missing from Sunreach was FM's family.  We know she must have an interesting family background - growing up into a Disrupter from the privileged Deep Caverns.  I wish it could have taken more of a front seat in FM's story.  Spensa's family obviously played a huge part in Skyward.  I bet Jorgen's family will play a big part in Evershore.  Shoot, Jorgen's family played a much bigger part in FM's story than FM's family!

I like the other replies that are hypothesizing that Ishar is trying to reverse the process of becoming a cognitive shadow, i.e. getting his old body and existence back so he can leave the Roshar system.

In another post about this, I also hypothesized that Ishar was trying create artificial Surgebinders, by bringing Radiant spren into the Physical Realm (notice how it's only Radiant spren that he's experimenting on), and dissecting them.  I believe Ishar is trying to find out if there is something about the Radiant spren themselves that enable the Nahel bond and Surgebinding, and if so, try to remove it and use it to Surgebind without having to bond a Radiant spren.  In essence: can Ishar create more Honorblade-like devices?

It's a concept that Brandon explored in his Reckoners non-cosmere series.

My apologies if someone’s talked about this before, but I didn’t find it in a search. What’s going on when Kaladin is fighting the Pursuer after Teft dies? Stormlight powered Surgebinders are left unconscious and drained, even after Lift wakes them up with Lifelight.  The the Pursuer attacks Kaladin directly going against Moash’s (Odium’s?) orders, and then Kaladin gets a power up. Not through Ideals, not through Stormlight or the bond with Syl, but through...something else?

His eyes glow “yellow / red”. Red is Odium / Voidlight, but what does the yellow represent? How is a human using Voidlight, if he is? Is Odium tempting him with power to corrupt Kaladin from within? Was it driving a wedge between Kaladin and Syl, causing her to become more distant up until the Fourth Ideal was sworn? It actually reminded me of Amaram after he swallowed the Unmade at the end of Oathbringer.

While Teft's spren is dead, dead for Invested beings can mean mostly dead, not all the way dead.

All Phendorana needs is for someone to take her to Miracle Max!

On 11/19/2020 at 2:54 PM, robardin said:

Well, except that Bondsmiths are "Radiants without Shards" (unless that is a specific condition from the Stormfather).

Bondsmiths could likely form Plate after swearing their own 4th Ideal - Stormfather specifically says "I will not be a mere Blade for you" to Dalinar.  Plate is made of associated lesser spren, so Stormfather wouldn't have to do anything.

I feel like it was a big hint at the origins of the Unmade.  I bet we get some origin scenes or talk of how Sja-anat came to be when it's time.

On 11/19/2020 at 9:56 AM, NysemePtem said:

why is he doing this? What is he even doing? How could he possibly do this? Is he manipulating connection somehow? I don't like it.

I am reminded of another Brandon scene, in a non-Cosmere book.  In Firefight, in the Reckoners series, the heroes learn that the tech granting super powers is literally powered by pieces of the people who (used to) have super powers. 

In a similar vein, given the mad genius of Ishar, I expect he was experimenting with the dead, given bodies of Radiant spren to determine if there is a way to Surgebind without the Nahel bond. As in, chop up the Radiant sprens' manifested physical bodies, and determine if there are pieces of those manifested bodies that can be used to fabricate artificial Surgebinding.  In a way, it makes a lot of sense.  Fabrials are tech that trap spren externally and use their abilities. Ishar is trying to see if he can create an anti-Fabrial.  

21 minutes ago, robardin said:

Or rather, the chasmfiend that apparently has bonded (if that is the right word) with Thude and the other listeners who had escaped Narak.

What is THAT going to be about? I literally have no idea. Thude's words to Venli indicate it's not something related to any Surges... And yet, the listeners had been hunting chasmfield chrysalises just as intently as the Alethi had done, to get the gemhearts needed to grow their Stormlight-fertilized crops.

Is this chasmfiend special? Perhaps there is a sentient spren in its gemheart?

I think it's the last one.  We spend all of Venli's chapters learning about the different ways spren can inhabit a gemheart, and even see a spren take over a cremling.  It's very like Brandon to extrapolate that and take it to the next level.  

6 hours ago, Singer said:

I also loved Design/Wit interactions. 

I think my favorite is that upon entering shadesmar, Pattern just interrupts a tender moment between Shallan and Adolin to give them a hug and proclaim how much he likes having arms. The image in my head is great. Pattern is my favorite 3rd wheel of all. 

I admit when Shallan learns Pattern was the one sneakily using the Cosmic Cube I was shook.   It was definitely a 'Verbal is Keyser Soze??' moment that Brandon turned around and subverted a few hours later.

On 11/19/2020 at 1:01 AM, Illwei said:

So, something that felt a tad bit off to me during my readthrough was Adolin's character in this book. I still can't quite figure out why, but-

In RoW, it shows us Adolin, who seems to be finally free of his father's expectations. My question is...where did that come from? In the past books did he feel....insignificant? or unworthy? or....I can't find the right word, but did he feel like he kept needing to prove himself? Prove that he was the Blackthorn's son and was as good as his father? He seemed to always be okay with doing his own thing in the books- even ashamed of Dalinar in the beginning.

My other thing is- I know that there's (er...jokes? Speculation? ...Fanfiction? :P) about Adolin being Odiums champion, and Adolin becoming a Knight Radiant, but it kind of made me think. In Oathbringer he admits to killing Sadeas, and he isn't sad about it- he felt it needed to be done, and was glad Sadeas was gone, right? This (first of all) isn't exactly following the "Journey before Destination" to me. This reminds me more of Moash, and how Moash killed Elhokar - Yes, for revenge,- but he also convinced himself that it was for the best. Adolin killed Sadead because he knew that Sadeas would be coming after them again and again, but there definitely was revenge in there too. 

I guess... I guess I've rambled a bit. Just had some thoughts on Adolin and...thought to share? hm?

The difference is the book Oathbringer (in universe).  Adolin has always known that Dalinar has been flawed - as an absent father, as the violent Blackthorn, as the raging drunkard.  Some of that Adolin has chalked up previously to flawed Alethi ideals about masculinity.  But Adolin has also looked up to and idolized Dalinar as a great man who always looked out for his family, his followers, and his friends, which made him morally superior in Adolin's eyes to the other Alethi.

Dalinar's admission that he killed Evi shatters so much of Adolin's world.  And not only that - Dalinar killed innocents and the blameless.  It's implied that Evi raised Adolin to be better than Alethi society, and after Evi's death, Dalinar continued that, first in Evi's name and then after Gavilar died, in the name of Nohadon.  Evi and Dalinar succeeded, but at the expense of Adolin's horror at Dalinar's admissions and the rift it has caused.  Adolin spends much of tWoK and WoR wrestling with the idea that Alethi ideals are terrible and his friends and girlfriends in Alethi high society are not who he wants to be.  He makes all that growth, just to find out that his father, in his past, was all of that in spades.

And sure, Adolin understands on some level that Odium and Nergaoul have been corrupting Dalinar for decades, which influenced Dalinar's decisions.  But the wound is fresh and Adolin is going to need a lot of healing to come to terms with it.

This is my take on Lirin. I didn't approve or like Lirin's choices in regards to his reactions and actions regarding Kaladin, but I temper it with two things:

1) Lirin is carrying some PTSD-like baggage for Tien's death and Kaladin's assumed-death (until very recently), which is coloring every interaction he has with Kaladin.

2) Lirin was Kaladin when he was younger.  He was the Dark-eyed rebel rising above his station to challenge authority and the social order in Hearthstone.   Lirin was the one that was going to take his superior intellect and training, even as a darkeyed citizen, save a bunch of people's lives and fight injustice and inequity.  Only Lirin now blames his sticking his neck out directly with getting his family torn apart and devastated with Roshone.  

Other loopholes:

1) The agreement says the sides will send a champion, nowhere does it say they cannot send anyone else to fight with them

2) The agreement says the sides will send their champions to the top of Urithiru, it makes no mention of being in the Physical Realm

3) The agreement says the champions will not be harmed prior to the contest by either side's forces, it makes no mention of hiring a third party assassin (Mraize, etc).

4) The agreement says the champions will arrive to the contest unharmed, it says nothing about booby-trapping the top of Urithiru

5) The agreement says nothing about weaponry of the champions, Taravangian can spend the next 10 days trapping Szeth in Shinovar and stealing Nightblood for the duel

6) The agreement says nothing about hiring an immortal for a champion, what if Taravangian convinces Wit or Cultivation to be his champion for the right inducement?

I forget the exact quote and where, but there's a passage in a previous book where Wit tells Dalinar he'll watch Roshar burn to get what he wants

7) Victory conditions: the agreement states Odium can't work against Dalinar's allies or their kingdoms, but it says nothing about subverting them to switch sides

8) Victory conditions: what if neither side can die, or what if both sides die. there are no conditions on Odium if there's a draw, as other people have pointed out

On 10/30/2020 at 9:09 AM, Dakhor Goon said:

Who is the Mink?

 

RoW is supposed to focus more on Venli and Eshonai.

 

I would like to see Jasnah become a worldhopper.

On 10/30/2020 at 9:30 AM, Infinitysliver said:

If she survives,I think Lift might make a good worldhopper later on

It'll be interesting to see if Radiants can indeed become worldhoppers without losing their Radiancy.  As RoW has just informed us, it's difficult to travel away from the Roshar system the more one is Invested, and what are their bonded spren partners but Investiture made sentient. 

On 10/29/2020 at 11:05 AM, Rainier said:

Yes, but what we were originally told was that it was going to be Eshonai's book, and Eshonai's flashbacks. But her sister got her killed and then stole her limelight, so what can you do?

Sisters, amirite?  Can't live with them, can't turn them into mind-controlled voidlight monsters through nefarious plans.

1 hour ago, Bliev said:

Yes, I imagine Teft has a separate role like Skar and Sigzil do. Teft was the first to come and gently kicking Kal to go congratulate the newest Windrunner, and he seemed like he was pretty high up there in terms of chain of command. I'm sure he has his bad days still, they all do, so the only thing I can think of that might be different is that he's opted out of leadership because he doesn't think he's ready for it. 

Or alternatively, Teft actively may not want leadership and official officer's duties.  In the real-world Army, there are plenty of great soldiers with tons of experience that want nothing more than to be the best Sergeant of all time and to look after his men.  Not everyone dreams of becoming General one day.

11 hours ago, Oltux72 said:

That would most likely lose him the war. It would be among the gravest errors he could make. Taravangian needs to die.
He has heirs. In fact he has grandchildren. They are not going to and cannot, if they want to be taken seriously, stay in an alliance with somebody who imprisoned their king. That would destroy the coalition.

You have two options

• You make it look like an accident or old age
• You make it look like poison and arrest Adrotagia, role up the Diagram and blame it on them 

Taravangian himself would approve (on his more intelligent, ruthless days)!

Jasnah would too, in fact, Jasnah wouldn't even bother with the poison.  She'd smoke him, open some windows, and never tell Dalinar to keep him compartmentalized..

1 hour ago, Rainier said:

Why would you be so cruel as to taunt me with the yet-unwritten sequel, Nightblood, although personally I'm hoping Brandon has the guts to name it Type Four Invested Entity, instead.

If he's gonna name it Type 4 Invested Entity, then he's gonna have to go full Alcatraz Vs. The Evil Librarians and name it Type 4 Invested Entity and the Search to Destroy More Evil, or some such.

There may also be a religious parallel at play here too; just as the Church is revealed not to be the building / temple it is housed in, but the hearts of the people that identify with the Church, Urithiru may be revealed not to be the tower that houses it, but instead the Sibling / Bondsmith pairing that resided in the tower all along for dramatic effect.